Loreto College, St. Stephen’s Green Walk for Water 2015

On Thursday 26th March, 43 girls from 4th, 5th and 6th year, along with 4 teachers, took part in the annual International Walk for Water. The group met at the Dodder in Rathfarnham, armed with rucksacks, buckets and banners! We drew some water from the river and at 08:45, commenced our 6km journey to school.

Our route took us in the direction of Harold’s Cross bridge where, in what has become a tradition, we met Anne Cleary, Executive Director of Aidlink. Our connection with Aidlink began about 4 years ago as part of our preparation for an Immersion Experience in Kenya.

Aidlink is an NGO working in Kenya, Uganda and Ghana, and its focus is to support basic needs programmes such as Water and Sanitation, Education, Food security and Healthcare.

Our walk to school was not a fundraiser, but rather an effort to:

Be in solidarity with the thousands of girls in sub- Saharan Africa who walk up to 6km a day in search of water, thus forfeiting the chance of an education. (Women are also expected to do 90% of domestic work.)

Acknowledge that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights.

On arrival in school shortly after 10:00, we deposited the water in the shrubs, flowers and plants in the carpark.

We felt all the better for our energetic and hopefully, thought- provoking, start to the day!